Chocolate Cake With Praline Topping Food

CHOCOLATE PRALINE LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325 degrees.
• In a heavy saucepan, combine butter, 1/4 cup whipping cream and brown sugar.
• Cook over low heat just until butter is melted, stirring occasionally.
• Pour into two 9-inch round cake pans; sprinkle evenly with chopped pecans.
• In a large bowl, combine remaining cake ingredients at low speed until moistened; beat 2 minutes at high speed.
• Carefully spoon batter over pecan mixture around edges of pan; spoon remaining batter in center of pans.
• Bake at 325 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes, or until done.
• Cool 5 minutes; remove from pans and cool completely.
• In a small bowl, beat 1 1/4 cup whipping cream until soft peaks form.
• Blend in powdered sugar and vanilla; beat until stiff peaks form.
• To assemble cake, place 1 layer on serving plate, praline side up.
• Spread with half of whipped cream.
• Top with second layer, praline side up; spread top with remaining whipped cream.
• Garnish with pecan halves and chocolate curls if desired.
• Store in refrigerator.

CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH GANACHE AND PRALINE TOPPING

Steps:

• To make the cake:.
• Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9 inch cake pan with non-stick spray. Line with parchment paper. Spray parchment. Dust with flour, tapping out any excess.
• Place butter and cocoa powder in medium bowl. Pour 1/2 cup boiling water over; stir. Let stand 2 minutes; whisk until blended. Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and coarse salt in another medium bowl. Whisk buttermilk, egg, and vanilla in another large bowl. Gradually whisk cocoa mixture into buttermilk mixture; whisk until smooth. Add flour mixture in 3 additions, whisking to blend between additions (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pan.
• Bake cake until tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Run knife around pan edges to release cake. Invert onto rack; remove pan and parchment. Cool completely.
• To make the Ganache:.
• Place chocolate and cream in microwave-safe bowl. Heat in microwave in 15 second intervals, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth. Stir in butter. Let stand until spreadable, about 30 minutes. Spread over top and sides of cake. Chill 2 hours or up to 1 day.
• To make the Praline:.
• Stir first 3 ingredients in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat until butter melts. Boil 1 minute without stirring. Remove from heat; whisk in sugar and vanilla. Add pecans; stir just to incorporate. Quickly pour praline mixture over cake. Spread just to edges (topping sets very quickly).
• Can be made a day ahead. Cover with cake dome and store at room temperature.

CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH PRALINE TOPPING

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Spray bottom only of 8- or 9-inch square pan with cooking spray (without flour).
• In large bowl, beat cake ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pan.
• Bake 8-inch pan 44 to 49 minutes, 9-inch pan 38 to 43 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Run knife around edge of pan to loosen cake; remove from pan to cooling rack. Cool completely.
• In 2-quart heavy saucepan, heat 1/4 cup butter, the brown sugar and whipping cream to boiling, stirring frequently. Boil and stir 1 minute; remove from heat. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Stir in pecans. Cool 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until topping begins to thicken.
• Spread warm topping over cake. Cool before serving. Cut into 4 rows by 3 rows.

CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH GANACHE AND PRALINE TOPPING

Steps:

• For cake:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 9-inch cake pan with nonstick spray. Line with parchment. Spray parchment. Dust with flour, tapping out any excess.
• Place butter and cocoa powder in medium bowl. Pour 1/2 cup boiling water over; stir. Let stand 2 minutes; whisk until blended. Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and coarse salt in another medium bowl. Whisk buttermilk, egg, and vanilla in large bowl. Gradually whisk cocoa mixture into buttermilk mixture; whisk until smooth. Add flour mixture in 3 additions, whisking to blend between additions (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pan.
• Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Run knife around pan edges to release cake. Invert onto rack; remove pan and parchment. Cool completely.
• For ganache:
• Place chocolate and cream in microwave-safe bowl. Heat in microwave in 15-second intervals, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth. Stir in butter. Let stand until spreadable, about 30 minutes. Spread over top and sides of cake. Transfer cake to plate. Chill 2 hours and up to 1 day.
• For praline:
• Stir first 3 ingredients in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat until butter melts. Boil 1 minute without stirring. Remove from heat; whisk in sugar and vanilla. Add pecans; stir just to incorporate. Quickly pour praline over cake. Spread just to edges (topping sets quickly). DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome. Store at room temperature.

PECAN PRALINE TOPPING

Steps:

• Melt butter over medium heat in a small pan. Stir in brown sugar, whipping cream and vanilla.
• Cook and stir until it reaches a full boil then reduce heat and boil gently for three minutes stirring occasionally.
• Remove from heat and stir in chopped pecans (and shot of rum if serving the adult version). Serve warm.

CHOCOLATE-PRALINE CAKE IN A JAR

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place 10 to 12 1/2-pint glass canning jars on a rimmed baking sheet, evenly arranged with space between them. (If you have a Silpat liner, place it under the jars to prevent them from sliding around.)
• To make the cakes, in a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the butter until smooth. Add the brown sugar and eggs and mix until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla, cocoa, baking soda, and salt and mix until combined. Add half of the flour, then half of the sour cream, and mix until combined. Repeat with the remaining flour and sour cream. Drizzle in the coffee and mix until smooth. The batter will be thin, like heavy cream.
• Pour the batter into the jars, filling them halfway. Bake until the tops of the cakes are firm to the touch, about 25 minutes.*
• To make the topping, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, then add the brown sugar and 1?2 cup water and stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar is dissolved, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the powdered sugar until combined, then return to the heat and bring to a boil. Stir in the nuts.
• Pour the praline topping over the cakes to cover, working quickly, because the praline hardens quickly as it cools. Let the cakes cool completely if they aren't already, before screwing on jar lids.**
• Do-Aheads
• *The cakes can be made ahead, cooled, covered, and kept at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
• **The finished cakes will keep for up to 4 days at room temperature.

CHOCOLATE PRALINE LAYER CAKE WITH TOPPING

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325 degrees.
• In small saucepan, combine butter, 1/4 cup whipping cream and brown sugar.
• Cook over low heat just until butter is melted.
• Pour into two 9 or 8 inch round cake pans, sprinkle chopped pecans evenly over mixture.
• Combine cake mix, water, oil and eggs and mix until moistened, then beat on high for two minutes.
• Spoon over pecan mixture.
• Bake at 325 degrees for 40 minutes or until cakes tests done.
• Cool 5 minutes in pans, remove from pans and cool completely.
• Topping---------.
• Beat 1 3/4 cups whipping cream until soft peaks form.
• Fold in powdered sugar and vanilla, beat until stiff peaks form.
• To asemble cake, place 1 layer on serving plate with praline side up and spread with 1/2 of the whipped cream mixture.
• Top with second layer, praline side up and spread with remaining whipped cream mixture.
• Garnish with chocolate curls if desired.
• Store in refrigerator.

CHOCOLATE PECAN PRALINE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325.
• In a small heavy saucepan, cook the butter, whipping cream and brown sugar over low heat, stirring occasionally, just until butter is melted. Divide evenly into two 9" cake pans. Spread this mixture over the bottom of pans and sprinkle liberally with ½ cup pecans in each.
• In a large bowl, combine cake mix, oil, water & eggs at low speed until moistened; then beat 2 minutes at high speed. Divide evenly into the two cake pans by carefully spooning batter over pecans around edges of pan and then over the center area.
• Bake 50-60 minutes or until ice pick inserted in the center tests clean.
• Cool 5 minutes only. Then cover each pan with wax paper and invert onto wire racks to finish cooling. Determine which cake layer will be the top layer and add as many additional chopped pecans as desired to make topping lush and attractive looking.
• When completely cooled, with both hands, carefully lift up the layer of cake to be the bottom layer and remove the waxed paper. Place on a serving/cake platter.
• Spread frosting over the top of the pecans, filling in all the spaces around the bottom layer. Repeat procedure to place top layer of cake on the bottom layer, except DO NOT frost the top. Frost the sides only.
• Then melt chocolate morsels with about a teaspoon of vegetable oil to a consistency that you can drizzle back and forth across the top of the cake to give it a finished look. You can do this by putting the chocolate chips and oil in a small Ziploc bag and placing the sealed bag in a pan or dish of hot water for a few minutes until chips are melted. Lift bag from water and dry off. Then compress the contents together with your fingers until well blended. Snip off a very small corner and the bottom of the bag and allow glaze to drizzle out while moving bag across top of the cake.

CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH MASCARPONE AND PRALINE

Steps:

• Make praline:
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• In a baking pan toast nuts in one layer in middle of oven 10 minutes, or until almonds are lightly colored and hazelnut skins are blistered. Wrap nuts in a kitchen towel and let steam 1 minute. Rub nuts in towel to remove any loose hazelnut skins (do not worry about skins that do not come off) and cool completely.
• Line a baking sheet with foil. In a small heavy saucepan bring sugar and water to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil syrup, without stirring, washing down any sugar crystals that cling to side of pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water, until it begins to turn golden. Swirl pan until syrup is deep golden and remove from heat. Stir in nuts and pour praline onto baking sheet, spreading evenly. Cool praline completely and break into pieces. Transfer praline to a sealable plastic bag and with a rolling pin coarsely crush.
• Make cake:
• Preheat oven to 300°F. Generously butter a 9-inch round cake pan (at least 2 inches deep) and line bottom with wax or parchment paper. Butter paper and dust pan with flour, knocking out excess.
• Finely chop chocolate. In a small saucepan combine cocoa powder, butter, oil, and water. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring until smooth, and remove pan from heat. Add chocolate and sugar, whisking until smooth, and transfer to a bowl. Cool chocolate mixture completely and whisk in egg. Sift flour and baking powder over chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined. Whisk in buttermilk and pour batter into cake pan, spreading evenly. Bake cake in middle of oven 45 to 50 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean, and cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes. Run a thin knife around edge of pan and invert cake onto rack. Discard paper. Cool cake completely and transfer to a plate. In a bowl stir together mascarpone and sugar. Spread mixture over top of cake and generously sprinkle with praline.

GLUTEN-FREE CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH PRALINE TOPPING

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Spray bottom only of 8- or 9-inch square pan with cooking spray (without flour).
• In large bowl, beat cake ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pan.
• Bake 8-inch pan 44 to 49 minutes, 9-inch pan 38 to 43 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Run knife around edge of pan to loosen cake; remove from pan to cooling rack. Cool completely.
• In 2-quart heavy saucepan, heat 1/4 cup butter, the brown sugar and whipping cream to boiling, stirring frequently. Boil and stir 1 minute; remove from heat. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Stir in pecans. Cool 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until topping begins to thicken.
• Spread warm topping over cake. Cool before serving. Cut into 4 rows by 3 rows.